From the beginning of April 2013 the chances of getting help with legal bills will be slim. The Law Society estimates 650,000 cases will no longer qualify, including 20,000 employment cases and 200,000 in family law.

The cut-off point to be able to get legal aid will be a household income of £32,000, and those between £14,000 and £32,000 will have to go through a detailed means test.

"It will become rare for someone with an income of more than £20,000 to qualify," says Richard Miller, head of legal aid at the Law Society. "The means test will be monstrously complex. It will cost thousands to process."

At the moment, workers can get help with preparing for an employment tribunal and representation at an appeal tribunal. The scale of the problem is evident – 20,203 employment cases were started under the legal aid scheme during the 2011/12 tax year. A further 6,842 new employment cases and appeals were started in this one.

"All help is going to be removed in these situations with the exception of discrimination cases," says Miller. Even then, people bringing claims will only have access to help via a phone line manned in three different offices round the country, rather than face-to-face meetings.

People who qualify for legal aid can still be asked to contribute to the costs, depending on their disposable income over £300. It is calculated on a sliding scale. The amount is being raised from 25% to 30%.

There is an allowance for access to legal aid in exceptional cases when it would be a breach of your human rights not to give it.

"In our view if you aren't able to present your case yourself then you should be able to get legal aid. If not, then you are being denied access to justice, which is a breach of your human rights. But the government thinks this will only apply in exceptional cases," says Miller. "I think there will be a lot of test cases to determine the boundaries."

Family law cases, which involve separation and divorce, child custody or financial issues, are an area that will suffer the biggest loss. Co-operative Legal Services, which will continue to take on legal aid cases, reckons 70% of family cases will no longer be on legal aid by next month.

Funding for people with housing, welfare benefits, debt and immigration problems has recently been removed. Although people can no longer get help with rent arrears, they will still be able to get legal aid once possession proceedings are issued.

Jayne Nevins, from legal expenses insurer DAS Legal Services, says: "This will affect the most disadvantaged in society. [Legal] insurance is often sold as part of your home insurance, but many on a tight budget are skipping taking it out."

The legal profession argues that the removal of swathes of legal aid will cost the taxpayer more because, rather than cases being solved in the early stages, problems will escalate and become more expensive to solve.

Earlier this month Lord Neuberger, President of the Supreme Court, warned that the cuts may lead people to take the law into their own hands if they feel they can't get justice.

Acas, the Citizen's Advice Bureau and other advice agencies are bracing themselves for a flood of unrepresented people turning to them for advice.